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A dome-like canopy in wood, stone, or metal, erected over the high altar of
larger churches, generally supported on four columns, though sometimes suspended
by chains from the roof. Other forms will be noted in tracing the cause of its
history. The name is late medieval, baldacchino, from Baldocco,
Italian form of Bagdad whence came the precious cloths of which in their later
development these canopies were made. It was called earlier ciborium, from the
Greek kiborion (the globular seed-pod of the lotus, used as a
drinking-cup) because of the similarity of its dome top to an inverted cup. The
early history of the baldachinum is obscure, but it probably originated in the
desire to give to the primitive altar table a more dignified and beautiful
architectural setting. The arcosolium altars of the catacombs perhaps foreshadow
this tendency. With the construction or adaptation of the larger church edifices
of the fourth century, the baldachinum became their architectural centre,
emphasizing the importance of the sacrificial table as the centre of Christian
worship. Thus, while the altar retained its primitive simplicity of form and
proportions, the baldachinum gave it the architectural importance which its
surroundings demanded. By its dais-like effect, it designated the altar as a
throne of honour. It served also the practical purpose of supporting, between
its columns, the altar-curtains, while from its roof were suspended lamps,
vases, richly ornamented crowns, and other altar decorations. The summit was
surmounted by the altar-cross. The earliest reference to the baldachinum is
found in the "Liber Pontificalis" (ed. Duchesne, I, 172, 191, 233,
235) which described the Fastidium argenteum given by Constantine to the
Lateran basilica during the pontificate of Sylvester I (314-335) and replaced,
after the ravages of Alaric's Gothic hordes, by another erected during the
pontificate of Sixtus III (432- 440). The oldest representation in art is the
early sixth-century mosaic in the church of St. George in Thessalonica; while
the oldest actual specimen is that in the church of St. Apollinare in Classe at
Ravenna (c. 810). The use of the baldachinum was general up to the twelfth
century, when it yielded to the growing importance of the reliquary as an
adjunct to the altar, sometimes disappearing altogether, sometimes taking the
form of a canopy over the relic-casket. With the placing of the altar against
the wall, the baldachinum took the form of a projecting dais canopy (v.
Altar-Canopy under
ALTAR: IN LITURGY) or became the
ciborium-like superstructure of the tabernacle or central tower of the altar.
Italy was less affected by this evolution than were the centres of Gothic art,
and the use of the older form is common there to-day. The most magnificent
baldachinum in the world is that in St. Peter's in Rome designed by Bernini for
Pope Urban VIII.
JOHN B. PETERSON
Transcribed by Michael C. Tinkler
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume II
Copyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an effort
aimed at placing the entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 edition on the World Wide Web. The
coordinator is Kevin Knight, editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like
to contribute to this worthwhile project, you can contact him by e- mail at
(knight.org/advent).
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